Redwitch, by my observations you are always reasonable and nearly always right, and you certainly may be right about this, but isn't your take on this exactly what the original perps want the citizens of this community to do? All I want is to know the facts. If there is no evidence then so be it. But if wood is stacked in a yard, isn't it reasonable to demand to know why? And if it's not reasonable to know why, then tell me the rationale for that. If the body politic is paying the bill, then we have a right to know the facts and hear an explanation.

You sound like just the person to lead such an endeavor.

It just feels like "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark." Hamlet 1.4

It would be nice if whichever entities investigated this crime would open their books, so to speak, so the public would be informed as to the processes followed, what was done, who was interviewed, what they said, and so on. Some details would be nice, thank you very much!

All we got was a broad brush conclusory statement that it was looked into and the perps could not be identified. What?

Exactly. Two questions should be answered; Is the Sumter County Sherriff's Office totally incompetent? If so, that should concern all residents. Or were they being asked to step down and look the other way. Also, this should be a concern to residents who pay their salary and now will pay the damages and fine.

The defense to libel, slander (defamation) is the truth. If it is true that the trees cut down in the restricted area contains the same wood stacked behind someone's home , a home located at the location of the criminal act then do you not have a beginning. Is there not enough of a question to pursue this investigation? I seriously doubt any one of those people strongly suspected of this misdeed would follow up on a lawsuit. They may threatened one but if they proceed then they allow a free hand (opened the door) at investigating this incident and for a criminal investigation there is motive and opportunity. And, for a counter civil suit against the alleged perps there is a breach of a tort ,injury and damages.

We need Professor Irwin Corey to weigh in on this.[emoji6]

"Folks let it go"
Why?

Why not get together and hire a private investigator? It shouldn't be that expensive and I would bet some answers would be found.

Well maybe, but I haven't heard the Fat Lady sing yet? But I am a bit hard of hearing

especially if they have mucho dinero

In one of my previous posts I made some suggestions about increasing the reward. It appears this tree removal is not going to go away (and it should not), and it appears the only way this is going to be solved will be to raise the reward to a level that someone speaks up. Maybe. we the people paying for this should take up a collection to increase the reward? I have no idea how this would be organized, but it would be interesting to see how much would be raised and if it would make a difference.
If no one came forward to claim the increased reward, the money collected could be held for a future incident, or donated to a suitable charity.
What do you think?

Actually I agree with barefoot because I have witnessed liars lie in court under oath and get away with it more times than I care to remember. But I learned the hard way it doesn't matter what is true it making those truths facts/evidence in a court of law.

We watched a President, a lawyer himself perjure himself. We watched a mother who killed her child in Florida walk free and continues to attempt to write a book for a big cash payoff. That is the reality and I recognize it is what we in America have become and worse yet people like this are rewarded

I personally continue to participate in this thread because of this and because of the same reasons many of you do and that's a demand for truth and the rule of law.

In this case its likely the perpetrators have already committed to their position and if so they lied and they will never recant those lies because of what followed this incident.

People can complain that this thread is done, beating a dead horse....but to me it is a clear example of the goodness, demand for fair play and demand for truthfulness and the rule of law of this, our generation

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing"

See my signature

I'd be willing to bet that the Sheriff knows exactly who did it but has no hard proof. Circumstantial evidence rarely wins in a court of law. Personally, I really don't want my tax dollars thrown away on a trial that will go nowhere. I also sincerely hope that the neighbors are totally ostracizing this homeowner. Bridgeport Lake Miona has some pretty close knit friendships. It would be nice if these folks had a block party every week and made sure the perpetrators were never invited. At least it would be a little justice.

As to opening the files to show what the Sheriff has or has not done to investigate this matter, not gonna happen and, personally, I wouldn't want it to. That's not how our justice works today. Imagine if a file had your name in it as a possible suspect but you're completely innocent. Would you want your name bandied around?

The reason I say let it go is simply because I doubt there will ever be enough proof to do anything. Knowing who did it is just not enough. Even knowing who was hired is not enough. The individuals who physically cut down the trees might be brought to trial. They could even name who hired them but, without a physical trail, it be comes a he said/he said. Again, hard to convict under those circumstances.

And, finally, while truth is always a defense against libel and slander, you must be able to prove what you said was true in a court of law. Good luck on proving this one.

And I am now going to return to my world, with a sincere wish that the folks who had those beautiful trees removed get a very swift, hard kick in their self-entitled behinds by Karma.